Mākara is a locality located at the western edge of

Wellington Wellington is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the third-largest city in New Zealand (second largest in the North Island ...

, New Zealand, close to the shore of the

Tasman Sea The Tasman Sea is a marginal sea of the South Pacific Ocean, situated between Australia and New Zealand. It measures about across and about from north to south. The sea was named after the Dutch explorer Abel Janszoon Tasman, who in 1642 wa ...

. The suburb is named after the Mākara Stream (''mā'' is Māori for white, ''kara'' is a kind of

greywacke Greywacke or graywacke ( ) is a variety of sandstone generally characterized by its hardness (6–7 on Mohs scale), dark color, and Sorting (sediment), poorly sorted angular grains of quartz, feldspar, and small rock fragments or sand-size Lith ...

stone). The

Wellington City Council Wellington City Council is a Territorial authorities of New Zealand, territorial authority in New Zealand, governing the city of Wellington, the country's capital city and List of cities in New Zealand#City councils, third-largest city by popul ...

regards the nearby Mākara Beach as a separate suburb. With winding road access from Karori or Ohariu, Mākara is a rural area with sparse development. It has attracted people who want rural living near Wellington.

History

In the nineteenth century there was a small amount of gold-mining at Terawhiti Station but no large-scale workable deposits were ever found. Tunnels associated with mining activity still exist on the hillside. In 1921 the Makara War Memorial was unveiled, built in memory of local residents who died in World War 1, and another name was added after World War II. There are gun emplacements at Fort Opau which still remain. These were built as part of the coastal fortifications of New Zealand due to fears of invasion during the second world war. A small foreshore reserve of sand dunes was bulldozed during this time as it was felt these could be hiding places for an invading army. This destroyed ecosystem is slowly being restored by local community groups. The Cook Strait Cable comes ashore from the South Island at Oteranga Bay in the suburb of Mākara. The HVDC line came into operation in April 1965 and was at the time the world's largest submarine cable. A radio receiving station was set up in 1944 in the region, at Quartz Hill, to receive overseas shortwave broadcasts for re-transmission by the New Zealand Broadcasting Service, close to the NZ Post Office Makara Radio receiving station. Subsequently from 1997 to 2007 the site was leased to a local

amateur radio Amateur radio, also known as ham radio, is the use of the radio frequency radio spectrum, spectrum for purposes of non-commercial exchange of messages, wireless experimentation, self-training, private recreation, radiosport, contesting, and emer ...

club, who installed equipment and multiple antennae to contact operators all over the world. The station's callsign was ZL6QH. In 1973 Makara Riding, formerly under the jurisdiction of a County Council, came under the administration of the

. West Wind, a proposal for a $380-million wind farm by

Meridian Energy Meridian Energy Limited is a New Zealand electricity generator and retailer. The company generates the largest proportion of New Zealand's electricity, generating 35 percent of the country's electricity in the year ending December 2014, and i ...

was approved by Wellington City Council in 2005. Opponents claimed that the project was too close to a populated area. In 2007 construction began on West Wind along Terawhiti Ridge. A temporary wharf was constructed in Oteranga Bay to move turbine parts into the area without going through Wellington's Central Business District. The 62 turbine farm was completed in 2009 and includes a recreation area. The turbines are 111 metres high and cover a 56 square-kilometre area including Quartz Hill and Terawhiti Station. In 2019, the name of the locality was officially gazetted as Mākara.

Demographics

Mākara is part of the Mākara-Ohariu statistical area.

Facilities

Parks and reserves

The potential of Makara as a possible recreational landscape for Wellington city was recognised from the early 1970s. There is a small boat access at the north end of Mākara Beach into the river. There is a two-hour walk from Mākara to Boom Rock if the Mākara Stream is crossed.

Churches and cemeteries

Mākara Cemetery is Wellington's largest cemetery. It was founded after Karori Cemetery edged towards full capacity in 1940, the first burial occurred in 1965. It is currently about one third full. The burial ground Ngā Iwi o Te Motu Urupā is open for Māori and their whānau in Mākara Cemetery. St Patricks Church was built in Mākara in 1873 by the Catholic Diocese. It is now a non-denominational, community owned church and often serves as a function area alongside the Makara Hall next door.

Education

Makara Model School, a co-educational state primary school for Year 1 to 8 students, is located in Mākara. It has a roll of as of . The school is a community emergency hub.

Climate

References

External links

1:50,000 map
* * * {{Suburbs of Wellington City Suburbs of Wellington City